


Ungentle

by disjointed_scribblings



Category: Chronicles of Narnia - C. S. Lewis
Genre: Gen, The Problem of Susan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-12
Updated: 2019-03-12
Packaged: 2019-11-15 22:51:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18082454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/disjointed_scribblings/pseuds/disjointed_scribblings
Summary: One night when Susan comes home dishevelled, skirt askew, hair mussed, lipstick smeared, Peter is sitting alone in the dark.  Judging.





	Ungentle

One night when Susan comes home dishevelled, skirt askew, hair mussed, lipstick smeared, Peter is sitting alone in the dark. Judging. She can feel the disapproval, the disappointment, the disgust in his gaze. 

"Well, hello to you too. Waiting up for me? You shouldn't have." She tries to brush off his reprobation. 

"Susan." His voice is quiet, but strong. Magnificent. She almost can't stand it. "What has happened to you? How can you go from a queen to a--"

This makes her snap. "Because I'm not a queen, Peter. You heard Aslan. We're not going back to Narnia, either of us. So I think... I think it's only time we moved on." 

"Once a king or queen of Narnia, always a king or queen of Narnia. Stop being foolish." 

"Stop being so stubborn. You can believe whatever you want, Peter. I'm done with it. I'm growing up. And maybe I want to grow up differently than I did last time. Maybe I don't want to be Susan the Gentle anymore. Is that even a quality to be admired?" She can't keep the bitterness from her voice. "It made people think I could be easily intimidated, easily led, it made them think I couldn't stand up or think for myself. Well, I can. I'm not Gentle -- I'm -- I'm --" 

"Susan..." Peter's voice is soft, comforting. He reaches out a hand, but she jerks away. 

"Not that it matters, anyway. I'm dead to Narnia, so Narnia is dead to me. No more Queen Susan of any description. No more Cair Paravel, or talking Animals, or diplomatic ventures, or handsome suitors, or nymph dances, or beautiful dresses or Aslan or... anything. No one looks up at me with respect and admiration here, they look down at me with contempt." She pauses to catch her breath. "You can pretend all you want that you're still High King, commanding legions of centaurs and giants and dwarves, but the fact of the matter is, here, you're just a young man. At least you get to do something with your life. I've a future of ironing my husband's shirts ahead of me." 

Peter is silent. 

"Perhaps we should rethink who is the foolish one here," Susan says, turning on her heel. 

Alone in her bed, she lets the tears come. No, she will never be a queen again, and she aches with the loss. 

Sometimes rejecting is the easiest way of forgetting.


End file.
